The Book:
The Girl I Was by Jeneva Rose
Published November 16th 2021 by Corner Star Press
Date read: November 8, 2021
The Characters:
Alexa/Lexi
Buy it on Bookshop.org | Amazon
The Plot (from Goodreads):
Sometimes you have to go back before you can go forward.
Alexis Spencer thinks she has it all figured out. Even when life gets her down, she is never too far away from another inspirational quote to rationalize her failures and ignore all her problems. Her boyfriend tires of her deadbeat life and breaks it off, she’s lost her job, her closest friends are a distant memory, and her college debt is still as high as the day she left. In typical fashion, she blames the world for her problems, including her 18-year-old self who should have just tried harder and put their life on a better track.
After feeling sorry for herself, Alexis goes on a bender to forget her problems and ends up blacking out, only this time she doesn’t wake up at home, she isn’t even in the right city, in fact, she isn’t even in the right year. She is back in her college town in the year 2002, and she thinks she’s been given a second chance to do things over, that is until Alexis comes face to face with her 18-year-old unruly self, who goes by the name of Lexi because it’s “sexier”. Right from the get-go, she has to get acclimated to life in the early 2000s again, which has its ups (no Kardashians) and downs (no cell phone).
Once she meets Lexi though, the hard part truly begins. First, Alexis must convince her that she is in fact from the future. Then, she has to convince Lexi to let her live in her dorm with her as she has no place to go. Finally, they must learn to get along and come to terms with the fact that alone, they will never make things right, but together, they could change their life for the better.
The Review:
“It’s odd that when we look back, the big moments are the little ones and the little moments are actually the big ones.”
After reading Jeneva Rose’s previous novel, The Girl I Was was nothing like I was expecting. The Perfect Marriage was a thriller, while The Girl I Was is women’s fiction. I so admire authors that can write multiple genres and write them WELL. This is such a testament to Rose’s talent that she really can do both.
These characters were so well written. I laughed out loud at some of the banter and snark, especially the arguments between Alexis and Lexi. Lexi’s friends must have been so confused! I also love all the nostalgia–I was only 9 in 2002, but there were still some things I recognized from that time. The comparisons made me laugh as well.
While the first half of this book was humorous and entertaining, the second half is where it really shines. It begins to discuss grief and how grief can change the course of your life. I loved the realizations that Alexis came to during these chapters, and her personal growth was really fun to read about.
This book is sure to resonate with anyone who wishes they could go back in time and change part of their past. I think many readers will really identify with Alexis, and perhaps even be able to improve their own lives based on some of her realizations.
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